Rob Bell's Confused Gospel

I've been teaching quite a bit on the Emerging Church Movement over the past two years. If you're not up to speed on this dangerous movement that is taking place within the Christian community, I encourage you to listen to my presentation by clicking here.

I continue to keep my eye on the movement and stay abreast of what the leaders of the movement are saying. Tonight I was reading a recent interview that Rob Bell did in Christianity Today. I found his response to a simple question about the gospel absolutely baffling. Rob Bell's gospel is a confusing distortion of the gospel in the Bible. Here was the question...

QUESTION: "How would you present this gospel on Twitter?"
ANSWER: "I would say that history is headed somewhere. The thousands of little ways in which you are tempted to believe that hope might actually be a legitimate response to the insanity of the world actually can be trusted. And the Christian story is that a tomb is empty, and a movement has actually begun that has been present in a sense all along in creation. And all those times when your cynicism was at odds with an impulse within you that said that this little thing might be about something bigger—those tiny little slivers may in fact be connected to something really, really big." –Rob Bell

What? Where's the cross? Where's the mention of Jesus? Where's the mention of sin, forgiveness, repentance, faith in Christ, salvation, or everlasting life? Contrast Rob's answer with the New Testament gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1ff ("Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures") or John 3:16, 1 Timothy 1:15, Acts 16:30-31, Romans 10:9-10, etc.

The gospel that the Emerging Church leaders are preaching is not the gospel of the New Testament. "I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them" (Romans 16:17).

For a long list of troubling quotes by Emerging Church leaders, click here.